Bar Fight
by BlackWindHowls
Summary: When Sam leaps a few years into the future, what can he do when neither he or the rest of the Project even knows the original history of how things played out? Fortunately, the answer comes soon enough.
1. Chapter 1

As soon as Sam leaped into whoever he was at the moment, a simple fact set in. Unlike many of the leaps he had gone on before, this time very little disorientation hit him. He was very aware nearly as soon as he realized he was in a new place and in a new body.

He glanced around. Sam saw that he was in a bar sitting in a corner booth. Cigarette smoke filled the air along with loud music he was unfamiliar with.

As Sam looked around, a waitress approached his table. If Sam had to take a guess, she was in her early forties.

"Need another drink Bob?" a waitress asked looking at Sam.

"Uh…" Sam said, "no thanks."

"Well Bob Smith," she said, "I've never seen you turn down a drink before!" She laughed and went to the next customer.

Sam leaned back in his seat. The tightly-wound plastic seat made stretching noises. He looked around for to take in his surroundings. Smoke filled the air as did loud music that he didn't recognize.

For the most part, it was like any other bar. Sam noticed a clock on the wall near the entrance. Ten past seven its digital lights pointed out. It was several seconds later that Al stepped into his sight.

"Hi Sam," Al said. "Have we got things to tell you!"

Sam looked around. It would be pretty difficult to secretly talk to Al here. Being that no one could see Al but himself and in such a crowded place, Sam stood up and, as discreetly as possible, motioned for Al to follow him.

Locating the restroom, Sam walked in. After making sure it was empty, he locked the door behind him and Al.

"So you know why I'm here?" Sam asked.

"Not exactly, no."

"What was so important to tell me then?"

Al took a quick puff from his cigar.

"That's the thing Sam. We can't help you," Al told him. "None of this has happened yet."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked. "How can none of this have happened yet? I'm here, aren't I?"

"Brace yourself for this. The reason none of this has happened for us yet," Al explained, "is because you're in the future. The year 2013 to be exact."

Sam leaned against the sink.

"Oh boy."


	2. Chapter 2

"What do you mean this is the year 2013?" Sam asked.

"That," Al replied. "Just like I said, this is the year 2013. You're a few years ahead of us."

"How could this happen?" Sam wondered. "I've never leapt into the future before!"

"Well, you know you've always been in control of your leaps," Al replied. "That's all I can tell you. However you did, you did it."

Sam rubbed his forehead. He remained silent for a moment.

"So what you're telling me," Sam said, "is that I'm in the future. Not just for me, but for you and the rest of the Project? To make it worse, what I'm here to change hasn't even happened for anyone?"

"That's pretty much everything," Al replied. He stuck his cigar in his mouth.

"Is there anything at all that you were able to get from the person I'm in?"

"Only what I've told you," Al said. "And that this is one of those family restaurant slash bar places in Florida. But look at the good news."

"There's good news?"

"At least now you can tell me who to bet on in the next few Super Bowls."

"Funny."

"Well, thought I'd--"

From the main area, a loud commotion and several screams were heard. Sam and Al looked to one another and ran from the restroom. Arriving back in the main area of the restaurant, everything was moving fast. It was hard to see what was going on.

That is, for five seconds. A man came running from the crowd towards the exit. Which just happened to be almost directly next to the restrooms.

"Stop him Bob!" the waitress that had tried serving him earlier yelled. "Don't let him leave!"

Thinking quickly, Sam stuck his foot out and tripped the running man. A few of the larger men in the bar came to help and held the man.

"Someone call 911!" a woman yelled. "He needs an ambulance!"

"I'll call," someone else said as he called on his cell phone.

Sam ran over to where the woman was screaming. He saw her crying and kneeling on the ground over a man.

A man who bleeding badly from a knife wound in his stomach.

"Stand back," Sam said. "Until the ambulance arrives, we have to help him as best as we can!"

He knelt next to the man in pain. Sam lifted up the man's shirt to see the wound better. Indeed, it appeared to be a stab wound.

It was times like this Sam was glad he went to medical school. But even then, there wasn't much that could be done in a bar.

"We're going to have to stop the bleeding before he bleeds to death as best we can until the ambulance gets here," Sam said. "Does anyone have a pair of scissors?"

"I have a pair behind the bar," the waitress said.

"Good," Sam said. "Grab them, a rag, soap, and some clean tap water.

Running, she grabbed the scissors and handed them to Sam.

Fortunately, Sam remembered enough to know how to treat the wound as best as possible. First he needed to clean the wound with the water and soap. Then he removed the dead tissue from the wound with the scissors. Finally, Sam cut off a large part of his shirt from the bottom. After cutting out as square a piece as he could, Sam placed the makeshift bandage on top of the wound and held it down. While the man needed a doctor and a hospital, this would have to do for the time being.

"Is the ambulance on its way?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," the man who called answered, "they said they'll be here within five minutes."

Fortunately, the estimates were right. As quickly as possible, the ambulance arrived a few minutes later. The paramedics took over from there.

As they carted the man to the ambulance, the waitress approached Sam.

"Good job Bob," she said. "You've definitely got a few free rounds from me."

"Good job indeed," Al said from nearby. "I think it's safe to say why you came here."

"That poor man had just come in here with his wife and kids," the waitress said. "He might have bled to death if you hadn't stepped in. Everyone was in such shock that I don't know if anyone would have been able to think clearly enough to do anything."

"I'm glad I was able to help," Sam replied. "Why did that other man stab him?"

"It happened so fast, I'm not sure," she replied. "I just heard the man with the knife saying how the victim had stolen his girlfriend a few years ago. I guess they were talking about the guy's wife. Next thing I know, this happened."

"Hey Sam," Al said approaching them. "I just overheard the paramedics saying they think the man is going to be okay. The wound doesn't look very serious to them but he could have bled to death from it within a few minutes if it hadn't been treated. Looks like you did save his life."

Sam smiled. Then leaped.


End file.
